Reason why Virender Sehwag missed out on being India's head coach revealed

Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag was one of the fore-runners for the position of the head coach of the Indian team. He was among the 5 people shortlisted for the interviewing process of the most coveted post in Indian cricket. Reportedly, Sehwag had made a very interesting presentation in front of the Chief Advisory Committee (CAC) – the body comprising of Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, and Sachin Tendulkar accountable for appointing the new coach.

However, it was towards the final stages when Ravi Shastri and Tom Moody inched ahead of Virender Sehwag in the race. Eventually, it was Ravi Shastri who was named the head coach of the Indian team. Many wondered what did not go in the favor of Sehwag. As per the recent reports in Time of India, there was one solitary reason why Sehwag had to crash out of the race.

Sehwag, who is the Director of Cricket Operations of the Kings XI Punjab, wanted to have his own support staff on board. This did not go down well with the CAC and also the Indian skipper Virat Kohli. A source noted that the experience of mentoring KXIP in the IPL made Sehwag believed that he would be suited for the post.

“After his stint as mentor of Kings XI Punjab, Viru was growing more confident by the day that he had the potential required to work at a higher level in a similar capacity. It was then that a senior BCCI official asked him to apply (for the role of India coach) if he could make up his mind,” a source quoted.

Conversation with Kohli

Soon, Virender Sehwag reportedly spoke to Kohli and asked if the team would be happy to have him in the dressing room in the role of the coach. Kohli was very welcoming and responded in affirmation.

“Of course, Viru paa. Your contribution to Indian cricket is great and we’re all so familiar with you. I have no problems whatsoever in you applying for the role. Anybody who thinks he can contribute his best for Indian cricket can and should apply,” Kohli reportedly conceded.

However, when Sehwag notified Kohli that he would like to have his own support staff in place, the latter looked unimpressed. Kohli remarked that the exisiting support staff shares great bonhomie with the team. Virender Sehwag apparently wanted to have Mithun Manhas as the assistant coach.

“Paaji, I have a lot of respect for you for what you can bring to the table but you have to understand that there is a professional set-up in place, therefore this cannot happen. The rest is up to the CAC. There is a support staff in place and has worked with this team for a while now. In fact there are individuals who understand the needs of team members on an individual basis,” Kohli had responded.

Shastri gets elected

At the very same time, something that worked well for the eventual winner of the race – Ravi Shastri – was his understanding of the team dynamics. “What went in Shastri’s favour was also the fact that he understood the importance of the work ethic put in place by the existing support staff members who have worked with the team for close to three years,” the source conceded further.